


The Chase

by Shastelly



Category: The A-Team (TV)
Genre: 20 year old story, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, My First Fanfic, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:14:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23865838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shastelly/pseuds/Shastelly
Summary: The end of the plan doesn't work out as planned and one chase turns into another.During the car chase after their rescue mission Face and Murdock crash.  They just need to survive until Hannibal and BA get back to them, that shouldn't be too hard, right?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	The Chase

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first fanfiction I ever wrote. I recently found it archived on the web. It is not betaed and I wrote it some 20 years ago, but I'm putting it up here anyway. When I get the chance I hope to go back and do an edit and refresh, but I wanted it here where I could find it again :)

Part 1

"Here they come Murdock!" Face climbed into the back of the car. They had souped up a little hatchback with some armor and armaments. BA and Hannibal had gone in with the van to grab the kidnap victim. The 10-year-old girl had been snatched from her family's front yard. Her parents had been warned not to call the police, but they didn't have the money to make the ransom. So they had hired the team. The plan was simple. Hannibal and BA go in using one of Hannibal's disguises and get the little girl. Then Murdock and Face would be waiting in the car to cover their retreat, take out the guys chasing them, and meet at a little town down the road.

The van sped past and Murdock pulled out between the van the its pursuers. Face threw dynamite at the cars out the back of the hatchback. He got two of the cars that way, but two more continued to follow. He switched to his rifle and opened fire. Murdock kept the pedal to the floor and swerved back and forth. Face finally got the tires on one of the cars when the second got a lucky shot and hit their front tire. Murdock struggled to control the steering wheel, but it was hopeless, the brakes wouldn't even work. Murdock yelled for Face to hold on as the car went off the road and rolled down a steep hill. 

"Boss, the car went off the road. Nobody could live through that crash."

"Was the girl with them?" the cold voice came over the radio.

"No, she got away in the van."

"What?! You lost them!"

"Look boss, they had another car waiting for them. They had explosives."

"Excuses, George, I don't want excuses. You said their men wrecked?"

"Yeah, the car went off the highway and down a steep hill."

"Well get them, maybe we can salvage this yet and ransom their men back to them."

"It will take some time to get to them. We will have to go back a few miles and then take some backroads."

"Then do it. Take Craig and Ethan with you. I want them or their bodies do you understand?"

"Yeah boss, I got it." 

When the car finally stopped spinning Murdock was still in the driver's seat, but everything seemed sideways. It took him a minute to realize that the car rested at a forty-five degree angle against an old log. The driver's side was closest to the ground, but a huge tree limb blocked the passenger side door. Murdock tried to open his door, but it was jammed tight. He was sore and had some scraps and bruises, but he wasn't hurt too bad.

"Face?" There was no answer. Murdock looked behind him, but Face wasn't in the car. "Face!" Murdock called a few more times, but still no answer. He knew he had to get out of the car. He had to find Face; he could be hurt. Murdock busted the driver's side window and began to crawl carefully through it. He was almost out when the car began to shift. He hurried, but he wasn't fast enough. The car came down hard pinning his legs. He could hear the bone break in his left leg when the steering wheel landed on it. He screamed in pain. He tried to pull free, but the car rested on his legs above his knees and he couldn't move. He reached down to see if he could tell how badly his leg was broke and felt the warm stickiness that could only mean that he was bleeding. He hoped it wasn't too deep, he knew it didn't take long for a man to bleed to death. He was trapped and hurt, but his main concern was that his friend was out there somewhere and needed him and he couldn't do anything about it. So he did all he could, "Face!"

Part 2

Face slowly opened his eyes. His head was resting against something hard so he attempted to shift to the side. The resulting pain that radiated from his head and down through his body was almost more than he could stand. He laid back and tried to catch his breath. The last thing he remembered was Murdock yelling to hold on. Murdock? Where was Murdock? Face looked around slowly. He was lying on a hill. The car and Murdock were no where in site. They must have wrecked. Face carefully sat up. He reached up to touch the spot on the back of his head where he had apparently made contact with the rock on the ground next to him. He brought his hand back down and wasn't surprised to see it covered in his blood. He tore the sleeve off of his shirt and tied it around his head. This simple move seemed to sap all of the energy he had and he lay back on the ground and lost his battle to stay conscious. 

Murdock opened his eyes. He had passed out. His throat was horse from all of the yelling and still no one had found him. He was afraid Face was dead. Why else wouldn't he come? It would be all his fault if he were after all he had been driving. He figured that by now Hannibal and BA had reached their meeting place and would be beginning to worry another half-hour and they would head back to look for them. The question was would the kidnappers also be looking for them and who would find them first. Murdock sighed and closed his eyes again. The bleeding had stopped so it must not have been too bad but his leg throbbed miserably and he was beginning to get thirsty. 

"Boss we finally found the turn-off. It will probably take us another hour to get back to where they went off the road. I don't know how hard it will be to find the car once we get there we may have to hike a ways to get to it." George was sweating profusely in the midday sun.

"I don't care what you have to do, just do it. Oh and George, if you don't come back with those men, don't come back at all!" Static filled the air.

"George the boss sure sounded angry." Craig observed. George looked up at disgust and the two muscle men in front of him. They had obviously not been hired for their brains.

"Then move it. Mr. Quinn doesn't like to be kept waiting." 

BA sat staring out the window of the little café. Face and Murdock should have been here by now. Something was wrong.

"Hannibal we gotta go look for them." Hannibal sighed Face and Murdock were only ten minutes late.

"BA, almost anything could have delayed them for ten minutes, a pretty girl, a flat tire, anything."

"You're wrong something happened." BA was certain that his little brothers were in trouble. He could feel it in his gut.

Hannibal looked over at BA and saw the determined look in his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a bad feeling, too.

"Okay BA. Let's go. But if they laugh at us for being overprotective, I'm going to tell them it was all your idea." BA just grunted an acknowledgement and they headed out the door.

Part 3

Face slowly came back to awareness. Man it was dark, he most have been out for awhile. He carefully stood up. The pain in his head was still pretty intense, but he managed to get to his feet. Now all he had to do was find Murdock and get to a doctor with some aspirin. He looked around and found that he was about three-quarters of the way down a steep hill. He could see the path the car had taken. Broken limbs and gouged earth made a pretty obvious trail to follow. So putting one foot in front of the other he began to make his way to the car and hopefully to Murdock. 

George stepped out of the car and slammed the door in frustration. A tree the size of a redwood was down across the road. That meant they would have to go on foot from here and the crash site was at least five miles ahead.

"Damnit!" George kicked the car. Mr. Quinn was going to kill him if he didn't get those two guys. Craig and Ethan were probably too stupid to be worried about it, but he was. Quinn was an escaped convict and he wasn't afraid to do anything. Apparently he'd killed a cop, not the sort of boss you want to disappoint. George reached into the car and pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Boss."

"Have you found them George?"

"Uh no not yet. There's a tree across the road here so we're going to go in on foot. I was thinking that you could send some more guys in from the east. We're about 10 miles east of County Line Road."

"You were thinking? Do I pay you to think, no! I pay you to do as your told. Seeing as how you don't seem to be able to handle the situation I will send some guys in from the east and I will accompany them. You continue west."

"Well you bozos heard the boss, get moving!" The three goons set off into the forest. 

BA pulled the van off on the side of the road. It was obvious that a car had gone off the road here. He and Hannibal slowly got out of the van and walked over to the site.

"Damn." Hannibal didn't have to say what he was thinking; they both had the same horrible feeling: Face and Murdock had gone off the road here.

"It's a long way down Hannibal."

"I know BA. I think we need to try to find another way down. We'll need the van once we find them." The unspoken thought being that they would need to get to a doctor. BA rushed back to the van and pulled out a map.

"I think if we go back about 10 miles to here," BA pointed to the road on the map, "We can cut down to this road and that will take us right to the bottom of the hill. I think I could make it in thirty minutes." Hannibal nodded his approval.

"Lets go." 

Murdock opened his eyes. He could have sworn he heard something, but then again for a guy who hears things all the time it didn't really mean anything. Just in case though he thought he'd give a yell.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

"Murdock?" The relief in Face's voice was clear. Murdock heard his friend stumbling down the hill.

"Who else Muchacho? I'm down here." Face finally reached Murdock's side and knelt down beside his friend. Immediately taking in the situation he began to look for something to pry the car up with.

"Murdock, I'll have you out of there in a minute. Are you hurt?"

"Not bad. I think my left leg is broke and it was bleeding a little, but it quit." Murdock was worriedly watching Face as he stumbled over a rock and almost fell. "How about you?"

"Oh I'm fine, jussst bumped my head a little." Murdock swore to himself. Face was never fine when he said he was fine, if he were fine he'd be complaining. He also seemed to be slurring his speech some. "Here we go." Face triumphantly held up the jack he'd found in the back of the car. "We'll just slide thisss under here and I'll lift the car up. Do you think you can scoot yourselllf free once I have it lifted?"

"Sure thing Faceguy, just don't topple that thing over on us."

"Oh ye of little faith." Face carefully began jacking the car up. Murdock couldn't help but notice the sweat standing out on his face. All thoughts however quickly fled when the car was lifted off his broken leg and a wave of pain washed over him.

"Ahhhh."

"Murdock?" Face looked over at him.

"I can do it." With a superhuman effort Murdock pulled himself free from the car. Once he was clear Face let go of the jack and stepped back to check on him.

"Lllets get a look at that leg." Face knelt down and began to check Murdock's leg. He stopped once and blinked his eyes, but then continued. "Well it is definitely broken. It looks like you got cut by the gear shift, it's not too deep." Face started to stand, but suddenly lurched forward and almost fell.

"Face?" Murdock was alarmed. "Hey buddy you okay?"

"Yeah just a little dizzy. Must have a concussion. Now if I could just find the first aid kit we had in the car." Face tried to get up again and this time succeeded. "We're going to need to bandage your leg and get it splinted." Face was walking around the car and Murdock in an apparently aimless manner. He tripped over a rock and landed heavily a couple feet over from him. Murdock managed to drag himself over to his friend. "This would be easier if it wasn't ssso dark. Murdock, I think I need to rest here a minute and then we'll get started okay?"

"Yeah Face. Okay." Face closed his eyes and was soon asleep or unconscious one. Murdock was trying desperately to get a hold of the fear the seemed to have taken residence in his chest. "Oh man we are in trouble. Hannibal, BA, if you guys could get here soon I'd appreciate it?" Murdock sighed as he looked up into the mid-afternoon sun.

Part 4  
BA and Hannibal drove at breakneck speed down the little gravel road. BA clung to the wheel expertly spinning the van around each corner. At the next curve Hannibal suddenly shouted in alarm. BA saw the car parked across the road and the tree behind it. He slammed the brakes and fought to control the van as it fishtailed in the gravel. Finally they came to a stop inches from the car. "BA does that car look familiar to you?"  
"Yeah." BA knew the car was one of the ones that had been chasing them earlier that day.  
"Damn. Okay lets scout out the area see where they headed and try to figure out how much of a lead they have on us. We won't be any help to Face or Murdock if we rush into this."   
Hannibal got out of the van and slowly began to circle the clearing. BA headed over to the car and searched it carefully. "Over hear." Hannibal had found the trail. BA walked over and he could clearly see the broken limbs and occasional footprint that marked the trail..  
"They weren't trying to hide this. They seem to be in a hurry."  
"Yeah. I checked the car. They had some guns in the trunk before there's still oil on the carpets. From the heat left on the engine I'd say they're about forty-five minutes to an hour ahead of us."   
Hannibal nodded and carefully considered the situation. "I think they are trying to get Murdock and Face, so they can still get their ransom money." BA nodded he wasn't sure how Hannibal made these leaps in logic, but it did make sense. "We're going to have to try and catch them before they reach our guys. So lets get what we need from the van and double time it."  
"Face, oh Face, time to rise and shine." Murdock gently shook his friend trying to rouse him from his unconscious state.  
"mmmmh...Murdock?"  
"Yeah Face." Face opened his eyes. Murdock was alarmed to see the panicked look that crossed his friend's face.  
"Murdock?!" Face practically shouted.  
"I'm right here Face, see." Murdock touched Face's arm and Face grabbed on for dear life. Murdock realized with a shock that he couldn't see.  
"Murdock...I...I...I can't see." Face's voice shook with emotion.  
"It's okay Faceman. You got a pretty good bump on your head there that's all. You'll be better in no time." Murdock hoped with all his heart that he wasn't lying. Face carefully schooled his features into the calm mask.  
"Your leg is broken right?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okay just point me toward the first aide kit." Face stood slowly and with Murdock's directions found the back of the car. He opened the hatch and reached inside, feeling around until he came up with a metal box. He held it up for Murdock to see. "This it?"  
"Yeah Face. Good job." Face followed Murdock's voice back. "Let me bandage your head up, Face."  
"In a minute. Do you see any good limbs that would work for a splint?"  
Murdock looked around, but didn't see anything. "No."  
"Okay well I'm going to look for something. Bandage your leg and I'll be back."  
"Face you can't go out there."  
"I won't go far and you can watch me from here."   
Murdock wasn't happy about the plan. Face still seemed unsteady on his feet and he couldn't see, but if they were going to get out of here his leg had to be splinted. There was no way Face could carry him.  
"Okay."  
Face walked forward with his hands outstretched and shuffling his feet. He circled out from where Murdock was and carefully began searching. Each time he hit limb with his feet he bent down to examine it. It took about twenty minutes but he finally found two limbs he thought would work. By this time there was sweat running down his back and he was breathing heavily. His head pounded like someone was beating him with a hammer.  
"Got them Murdock. Now where are you?"   
Murdock smiled Face made it sound like he was the one who moved.  
"Over here Face. Yeah this way. Watch that rock at 12 o'clock. Good almost there. Don't step on me."   
Face finally reached Murdock and flopped to the ground exhausted. Murdock took the two limbs and splinted his own leg. It was tremendously painful and he bit down hard to keep from crying out. When he finished he was sweating as much as Face. He lay back down on the ground.  
"Face?"   
Face didn't answer and Murdock was surprised to see he'd fallen back asleep.   
"Well okay ten more minutes, but then we're out of here."  
Part 5  
The feeling of being shaken brought Face back to awareness.  
"Huh?"  
"Face, sorry buddy, but we need to get out of here you know? Bad guys, guns, kidnappers, foiled plans, any of this ringing a bell?" Murdock helped Face sit up. He had already wrapped a clean bandage around Face's head. At least the bleeding seemed to have stopped.  
"Okay." Face wrapped his arm around Murdock's back and slowly lifted the both of them to their feet. His head hurt so badly and he felt dizzy and nauseous, but there wasn't anything to be done about that. Murdock was probably feeling as bad if not worse trying to get around on a busted leg. "You just use me for a crutch."  
"Face which way do we go?" Face tried desperately to bring the map up in his mind, but it was no use everything was still too fuzzy.  
"Well Murdock, I vote for the way with the least amount of things to trip over." Face put a smile on. He could feel the tension in Murdock; he needed to lighten the situation a little.  
"Okay Face then this way it is." Murdock laid his arm over Face's shoulder and began making his way West, completely unaware that they were heading away from Hannibal and BA.   
"CRAIG!" George yelled into the woods again. Where could he have gone? He heard a noise coming up on his left and pointed his gun. Ethan stepped out of the bushes and quickly threw up his hands. "Put your hands down, you idiot. Did you find him?"  
"No I didn't see him anywhere it was like he vanished or something." Ethan crossed himself.  
"Would you stop that?" George shook his head in disgust. "He probably got tired of traipsing around in these stupid woods and headed back. Well I tell you what; Mr. Quinn is not going to be pleased. Ethan? Ethan?" George turned around only to find that his other goon had also disappeared. "Son of a gun. Ethan, Craig, you two are so dead when I find you."  
"I'm sure they're real worried." George turned and found himself eye to eye with a white haired man.  
"Look mister, if you had anything to do with this you are in so much trouble." The white haired man shook his head as George pointed his gun at him.  
"Really not a very effective threat. Now that, that is an effective threat." The white haired man pointed behind George. George turned around slowly and found a large black man wearing an excessive amount of gold behind him. Before George could react the black man punched him, knocking him cold with one blow.  
"Nice BA." Hannibal bent down to tie the third goon up.  
"How far away are we Hannibal?" Hannibal looked back the way they had just traveled. He thought for a moment before he answered.  
"If we can keep up the same pace, I say we're only twenty minutes away from the car." BA nodded. It was cooler now, but his sweat soaked shirt still clung to him. It would be a grueling twenty minutes, but he could do it. Murdock and Face might be in trouble. At least they had taken out the goons trying to catch them. A sudden thought made BA pause.  
"Hannibal you suppose these was the only guys after Face and Murdock?" Hannibal looked up at BA his expression grim. BA nodded Hannibal didn't have to answer, they both already knew.  
"Look what I found." Hannibal suddenly smiled. He lifted up the walkie-talkie that George had been carrying. "This should give us something of an advantage. At least if anyone else is out there we can listen in." BA smiled. "Yeah then we'll know where to go to finish them off." BA smacked his fist into his other hand.  
"Let's go." Together they set off to find their friends.   
Face and Murdock had been walking for a long time; at least it felt like a long time. It was getting to be too much for either of them. When Murdock looked up and saw the cabin he thought at first that he was just imagining it, but it was really there.  
"Face."  
"Huh?" Face didn't even bother to lift his head up. Sweat ran freely down his pale face. Murdock cringed just looking at him. He figured he didn't look much better, but at least he didn't have to look at himself. "There's a cabin up there. We can crash for the night. Sound good?" Face nodded. Murdock drew a deep breath before pushing them on. His leg was on fire. He knew that if he kept on it like this he was going to cause some permanent damage. The closer they got to the cabin, the clearer it became that it had been abandoned some time ago. There were holes in the roof and the walls. A good stiff breeze could probably take it out, but Murdock thought it was beautiful. He somehow managed to get them both to the door and pulled it open. It had one room. A table, a chair, and a bed were the only furnishings, and everything was covered in a think layer of dust and cobwebs. "Well Face, it ain't the Ritz." Face smiled.  
"Is there someplace for you to sit down? We need to get your leg propped up."  
"There's a chair." Murdock started heading for the chair.  
"Is there a bed?" Face knew Murdock well enough that he would try to leave the best for him.  
"Yeah."  
"Well you get it. It'd be better for you to lay your leg down." Murdock stopped and Face almost fell over him.  
"But, you need to lay down." Face sighed.  
"Sitting would do me just as well. We need to lay your leg flat." Murdock finally relented, more because he was afraid they would both fall over than because he agreed.  
Face got Murdock settled into the bed. He then carefully walked around the cabin trying to get a feel for where things were. He then sat down in the chair and laid his head on the table.  
"Face."  
"What?"  
"You okay?"  
"Yeah." Murdock sighed and leaned back in the bed. This day was really beginning to suck.  
Part 6  
BA and Hannibal reached the clearing fifteen minutes later. Both men were breathing heavily and sweating. Cutting the extra five minutes off their expected time had cost them some energy, but listening to Quinn and his men search the woods for Face and Murdock had urged them to move faster.  
Hannibal’s eyes swept the clearing searching for any clue as to the whereabouts of his men. BA’s eyes were drawn instantly to the car; crumpled and battered it was barely recognizable. He ran his hands along the drivers’ side door nervously as he knelt to look in the window. It was hard to believe anyone had survived. The driver’s side was almost flat against the ground, the steering wheel was bent, and the driver’s sear was tilted back at a crazy angle. BA couldn’t imagine a way Murdock could have come through the wreck unscathed. He found the jack. That in some ways made him feel better and in others worse. Obviously someone had used the jack to get someone out of the car; this told him they were both alive. However, someone, probably Murdock had been trapped in the car and was in all likelihood injured. BA sighed and rested his head against the car. He should be there with them. They needed him. Murdock was for sure hurt and maybe Face. They needed him. He reached back and slammed his fist into the car. What good was he if he couldn’t be there to help his friends, his little brothers? It was his self-appointed job to watch out for them, to protect them. He was strong for them. There was something undeniably child-like about the two of them that put his protective instincts on overdrive. Murdock and his crazy jibber-jabber and Face with his cons and smiles, both of them like two kids playacting at life. BA considered it his mission to see that they went right on doing it. He’d never admit it, but he’d be lost without them.  
Hannibal walked carefully about the clearing. He found the trail were someone had walked into the clearing from up the hill. He traced the steps to the car. He didn’t really check the car out, BA had that covered. It must have been Face. He knew Quinn’s men had not found the clearing that much he’d gotten from the radio communications. That meant Face had been thrown from the car on the way down. Hannibal felt his hands begin to sweat. It seemed to reason that being thrown from a car couldn’t be good for your health, and the shuffling and uneven footsteps served to support this theory. Face was hurt. Hannibal cringed when BA’s fist pounded into the car. Murdock was injured as well. They had managed to leave the clearing on their own power that was a good sign. Hannibal spotted a piece of cloth on the ground. He bent down to pick it up. He almost threw it away when his hand made contact with the stiff crustiness of dried blood. He forced himself to examine it further. It was a sleeve from Face’s shirt. He couldn’t know which one of his men was bleeding, but somehow he did; it was Face. He stuffed the sleeve into his pocket for some reason having it with him, as much as the blood repulsed him, made him feel closer to Face and Murdock. Taking a deep breath he stood and once again carefully scanned the clearing. There, he saw the break in the foliage where his men had entered the surrounding forest. Stepping closer he examined the tracks. One of them was limping badly. There was hardly any weight at all being put into the impressions of Murdock’s left sneaker. Hannibal turned to look at BA just as the big man lifted his eyes to his colonel.  
“Let’s move it BA. They couldn’t have gotten far.” Not in their condition, the words didn’t need to be said aloud.  
“Quinn, we’ve spotted a cabin, “ the radio in Handball’s pocket squawked to life. BA and Hannibal set off into the woods at a dead run.  
Face didn’t know what it was that woke him up. He lifted his head slowly; the pain didn’t seem to be letting up any, if anything it was getting worse. He opened his eyes and was once again met with a wall of darkness. Each time he opened his eyes, he hoped there would be something else there, anything other than black. It was scaring him. What if he was really blind? There was no way he could keep going with the team like that. He would be a burden to them, and if his childhood had taught him anything it was that being a burden was not the most desirable position. The team wouldn’t tell him that, but he would know. If he were blind there would be only one thing for him to do; he would have to turn himself in. He would only put the team at risk if he stayed with them. He couldn’t do that. His head gave another good throb, heck at this rate; maybe he’d just die and not have to worry about any of it. Murdock groaned from the bed. He tried to move again; Face was surprised he could here tell that from the sounds of the mattress shifting. It was then that another sound reached his ears, footsteps.  
“Murdock.” Face whispered.  
“What?” Murdock kept his voice low when he saw the expression Face was wearing. Face gestured toward the door, and carefully made his way along the wall until he was standing behind it. Murdock wished with all his might that he had a gun just then. He could here two men outside of the cabin. They seemed to be talking over a radio of some sort.  
Face crouched at the ready behind the door. He heard the men report that they had found a cabin. He heard the footsteps coming closer and then the doorknob began to turn. Face held perfectly still; if this was going to work he had to surprise them.  
“Look what we have here. Hurt yourself in that little wreck you had, did you?” The first guy stepped into the room and walked toward Murdock. The second guy followed more carefully.  
“Hank, that guy didn’t get here on his own, where’s the other?” The second guy swung the door shut.  
“Now! Two o’clock.” Murdock shouted to Face. Face swung his fist aiming at what he hoped with the second guy’s head at two o’clock. His fist connected with the guy’s nose. Murdock swung up into a sitting position and kicked the first guy with his good leg. Face hearing the commotion tackled the first guy. The second guy only dazed got up and ran toward Face. “Face, three and six.” Face punched at three o’clock and nailed the second guy in the chest; spinning around he landed a kick on the first guy at six o’clock. The sound of a gun being fired froze Face where he was. “Murdock?”  
“Your friend is dead if you move.” A cold voice echoed through the room. The newcomer must have been standing near Murdock.  
“Murdock?” Face was shaking; the fight seemed to have taken all the strength he had. He could hear the two guys he’d just been fighting with getting up.  
“Face, I’m okay. I’m over here.” Murdock was still sitting on the bed. The newcomer had his arm wrapped around his shoulder and a gun pressed against his temple.  
“You are okay for the moment, as long as your friend cooperates. Understand, friend?”  
“I understand.” Face didn’t resist as the two guys grabbed his arms and held him. “What do you want?”  
“I think that should be obvious; I want my money. You two gentlemen have deprived me of an opportunity to make a rather large sum, and I want it back.”  
“The girl is safe Quinn, you can’t get her now.” Murdock glared at his captor. “The girl, who said anything about the girl? I intend to use you and your pretty companion. I think your teammates will pay quite handsomely for the two of you, don’t you?” Quinn smiled at Murdock. Murdock was suddenly struck with how snake-like the man looked. From across the room Face groaned and collapsed between the two goons.  
“Face?” Murdock tried to get up to help his friend, but Quinn held him back.  
“Hank, Tim, move him over there.” Quinn gestured to the other side of the room. The two goons carried Face and dropped him rather unceremoniously on the floor.  
“He’s hurt, let me help him.” Murdock tried to get up again, but Quinn’s grip on him was like a vice.  
“Sit down, Mr. Murdock. Try that again, and I’ll put him out of his misery.” Looking into Quinn’s eyes Murdock had no doubt he meant what he said.

Part 7  
The gunshot echoed through the forest. Hannibal and BA stopped for a brief second and then were off again. Hannibal knew Quinn had Murdock and Face now; the talk over the walkie-talkie had stopped. The gunshot still rang through his ears. What if, no he couldn’t even let himself imagine that. It stood to reason, however, that someone had been hit by the bullet. Guns aren’t often fired for the heck of it. He needed a plan, something, anything that would get them out of this. It had been his plan that had got them into this. No thinking like that is defeatist, the plan was valid, everyone had agreed. Even Face hadn’t complained much about the whole scheme. Face. What would the team do without him? Stop it. He isn’t dead, you don’t even know if he was hit; it could have been Murdock? No not Murdock either. It couldn’t happen. So a plan, we need a plan, come on Smith, we need a plan.  
BA’s heart felt like it had stopped with the echoes of the gunshot. He was too late. He had failed, but no Hannibal kept running. No he hadn’t failed there was still time, still a chance, the A-team doesn’t give up that easily. No way, Face and Murdock were in trouble, but they were waiting for him and for Hannibal. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to work out just like it should.  
Hannibal motioned for BA to get down. He saw the cabin in the distance. He looked at BA, now was the time for a plan, smiling it came to him like it always did. The jazz hadn’t failed him yet. “BA,” Hannibal whispered. “I want you to circle around to the back of the cabin. We need to now how many people we’re dealing with here. Check for guards or any type of defense. I’m going to contact them with this.” Hannibal held up the walkie-talkie. “They won’t know we are here. I’ll set up some sort of exchange. Face and Murdock for those goons we got tied up. Then when they come out we can get them along the trail. Be ready to move out when they come out of the cabin. I need you to get ahead of them and slow them down. I’ll be behind. We’ll just wait for the right moment and then pounce.” BA nodded as Hannibal talked. It sounded good. He moved off silently into the trees and around the cabin. He didn’t encounter a single guard or defensive structure. When he had checked the area thoroughly he used a birdcall to signal Hannibal.  
Hannibal smiled at the bobwhite impersonation. That wasn’t going to get any hunters after them. He picked up the walkie-talkie took a deep breath and spoke. “Quinn. Daniel Quinn.”  
Inside the cabin Quinn grabbed the radio and smiled. This was going to work.  
“You know who I am, but I don’t know who you are?”  
“Hannibal Smith. You might have heard of me. I have your men here Quinn, if you can call them men.”  
“You think I care? Hired help all three of them Smith. I have your men, well what’s left of them. They do seem to be a little worse for the wear after their recent accident.”  
“I want to talk to them.” Quinn held the radio up to Murdock.  
“Hey Colonel, how ya been?”  
“Murdock are you okay?”  
“Never better.” Quinn pulled the radio away from Murdock and smacked his face.  
“Your man has a broken leg Smith and a gun to his head.”  
“What about Face? I want to talk to him.”  
“No. Enough. I want my money Smith. I want the quarter million that was supposed to be mine. I know you have it. You must have charged as much to get the little girl back to her mommy and daddy. I want what’s mine. Then you can have your men.”  
“We only got $200,000. A discount from your price, if you will. Now I want to talk to my other man.” Hannibal quickly adjusted his plan.  
“He seems to be indisposed at the moment, but I assure you that he is alive, for now. Your men for the money.” Hannibal paused; he didn’t want to seem too eager.  
“All right. Where is the exchange?”  
“Where are you Mr. Smith?”  
“I’m at the site of the wreck. I have your men tied up here.”  
“Good then I will meet you there.”  
“How do I know you’ll bring my men, and they’ll be unharmed?”  
“You don’t.” Quinn slammed the radio down and smiled. His plan was working perfectly.  
Hannibal turned the radio off. He sighed, his plan was working perfectly.

Part 8  
“Can I check him now?” Murdock was desperate to check on Face. He hadn’t moved since he’d collapsed.  
“Go on.” Quinn gestured with the gun.  
Murdock painfully hobbled over to where Face lay on the floor. He checked for a pulse, and was relieved to find one, even if it was a weak one.  
“Is he alive?” Quinn asked only slightly curious.  
“Yes.” Murdock spat back at him.  
“Too bad, I’ll just have to kill him, when I get the rest of your team. Waste of a bullet, maybe I’ll just leave him to die, he looks pretty close anyway.”  
“You son of a bitch, you won’t get away with this.”  
“Oh how very cliché of you, Mr. Murdock. Tim, tie Mr. Murdock’s hands would you, we need to be on our way.” Quinn walked over and picked up Face, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Well that will make a nice shield, just in case your Mr. Smith decides to try something stupid.” Tim pulled Murdock roughly to his feet. “You first.” Murdock was shoved out the door and followed by Tim, whom had a gun pointed at his head. Quinn and Face followed; Hank brought up the rear.  
Murdock’s leg felt like it was ready to fall off. Each step was agony to him, but he kept walking. A very bad bobwhite call to his left brought a smile to his face. Hannibal and BA would get him out of this. He knew they would come through. It was a faith that had been routed deep into his soul in Vietnam and one that would never leave him. BA was a rock and Hannibal was lightning, nothing could stand up to them. Another birdcall to the right this time, Murdock purposefully walked as near to the middle of the two calls as he could. A muffled shout sounded behind them.  
“What the…” Quinn spun around. Hank was gone. Disappeared into the foliage like a phantom.  
“Smith!” Quinn shouted at the forest. “Damn you, I’ll kill him, I will.” Quinn tried to point the gun at Face, but it was hard with him over his shoulder. He slid Face down so that he was holding him in front of him and the gun pressed against his temple. A sound from the other side made Quinn turn back to front. Tim and Murdock were gone. “No!” Quinn began to squeeze the trigger just as two large black hands grabbed him from behind and jerked his arms up. Face fell, the gun went off, and BA dropped Quinn with one punch.  
“Face?” BA knelt by his friend. He hadn’t been shot, that at least was good, but he was unconscious. BA gently lifted him up into his arms. Hannibal finished tying up the goons.  
“BA, how is he?” Hannibal asked anxiously.  
“Not good, we need to get him to a doctor.” BA was real worried about him.  
“Hannibal, before he passed out, he…,” Murdock took a deep breath, “he couldn’t see. He got thrown from the car and must have hit his head.” Murdock still felt incredibly guilty about the whole thing.  
“You’re both lucky to be alive, fool, that was quite a bit of driving you did down that hill.” BA couldn’t stand hearing the dejected tone in Murdock’s voice.  
“Not good enough.”  
“We’ll talk about it later Murdock, right now we need to get moving.” Hannibal helped Murdock to his feet and let the younger man lean on him. “You think you can do this, Captain?”  
“I sure can.” Murdock looked over to where Quinn and the others were tied. “What about them?” “I’ll phone the cops when we get to town and tell them where they can find a gang of kidnappers.” Hannibal glared at Quinn, who had regained consciousness.  
“Don’t.”  
“What?” Hannibal turned to Murdock with surprise written all over his face.  
“Leave them out here to die!” Murdock’s face was hard and angry.  
Hannibal didn’t argue with him. He knew that deep down Murdock didn’t mean it, and besides it didn’t bother him to let Quinn think that’s what was going to happen. “Okay.”

Part 9  
Murdock sat in the van, his head resting in his hands. The side door stood open. Just moments earlier Hannibal and BA had rushed through carrying Face. The blonde man was so pale, so still, and Murdock was so scared. If Face died it would be his fault, he had been driving, and nothing anyone said was going to convince him otherwise. He was a little surprised to feel the dampness on his hands; he hadn’t realized he’d been crying. Face was his best friend. That was the way it was. He was the one he could talk to no matter what. No matter how silly, how crazy, how frighteningly sane it was Face could hear it. Something in those blue eyes told him that he was always accepted, even when they were filled with annoyance at his antics they were accepting. “Murdock.” Hannibal touched his shoulder gently. He was crying, and he didn’t even know how bad it was yet. It would be hard on him if Face died. It would be hard on all of them. Hannibal knew he couldn’t take Face’s place for Murdock, but if he had to he would try. Face was so important to Murdock, to all of them. They were a family in every sense of the word, but blood. Face was like a son to him. It was crazy, the con man certainly could take care of himself, but Hannibal always felt protective of him. Since they’d first met in Vietnam. The fresh young Lieutenant was so unsure and innocent and naďve and at the same time bold and deceitful and wise beyond his years. He still was. Something about Face was old and young, good and bad, wise and foolish; somehow he made it all exist together. He would make it. Doctors didn’t know everything.  
“Colonel?” Murdock’s tear-filled eyes looked up to Hannibal.  
“He’s in surgery. Doc says there’s blood pushing against his brain and he has to drain it.”  
“God.”  
“Murdock, Face is strong. He can do this.”  
“It’s my fault.”  
“No. It’s mine.”  
“What?” Murdock looked up in shock.  
“It was my plan.”  
“But I was driving.”  
“Well maybe it’s BA’s fault; he built the car. No wait it’s Face’s fault; he didn’t hold on.” Murdock swung at Hannibal, but the older man was faster. “Don’t say that. It’s not his fault!” Hannibal grabbed Murdock’s arms and stared into his eyes. “It’s no one’s fault, but the son’s of bitches we left tied up in the woods!”  
Murdock nodded and sighed. Hannibal was right. It didn’t make him feel much better. “Now let’s get the leg set.” Hannibal helped Murdock into the wheelchair he’d brought out and rolled him into the hospital. A doctor took him back to an exam room and Hannibal went to call the cops about the kidnappers.  
BA stood by the doors of the operating theater, waiting, guarding, and praying. His little brother was in bad shape. The doctors said he had a less than thirty percent chance of making it through the surgery, and then the odds were even worse that he’d be the same. Brain damage, the doctor had said, was very likely. BA balled his fists up and wished for something to pound. Face wouldn’t want to be like that. He wouldn’t want to be diminished. The only thing BA could hope was that if it did come to that, if Face was hurt like that; he hoped it would be bad enough that he wouldn’t know the difference. It would kill BA to look at him and know that underneath, trapped was still the old Face. That was selfish. BA shook himself. It didn’t matter. Face was going to be okay. Face was strong. Stronger than anyone ever gave him credit for. He was going to be fine, and even if he wasn’t he’d still be a part of the team. BA glared at a nurse as he walked into the operating room. Doctor’s didn’t know everything. BA Baracus knew that Face was going to be fine.  
The fog surrounding him seemed to be lifting; he opened his eyes slowly. At first everything was blurry, but it began to clear. Murdock…it was the first thing he thought, and the first thing he saw.  
“Are you okay?” His voice sounded hoarse even to his ears.  
“Face!” Murdock practically leapt onto the bed, and that was an accomplishment with his leg in a cast. He had the biggest smile on his face, bigger than Face had thought humanly possible. He sat back down into his wheelchair. Hannibal and BA appeared in his line of vision. They must have been sitting on the other side of the room.  
“Hey kid, how you doing?”  
“Face, ‘bout time you woke up.”  
“Are you okay?” He repeated it more slowly this time, hoping they’d notice.  
“Me, you’re asking if I’m okay? Geez Face, yeah, just a little fracture.” Murdock thumped on his cast.  
“Murdock, that is more than a little fracture, fool.” BA glared at Murdock. He was worried the crazy fool wouldn’t pay attention to the doctor’s orders and mess up his leg.  
“It’s not so bad.” Murdock smiled at Face.  
“What happened? I remember someone coming into the cabin and then it’s just blank.” Face was a little scared about the memory loss.  
“Well, they came in, you kicked their butts, but another guy got the drop on us. Hannibal and BA rescued us.” Murdock was still smiling like an idiot.  
“How long was I out?” Murdock’s over enthusiasm was making him nervous.  
Hannibal sat in the chair he pulled up next to the bed. “Well the doc said you hit your head pretty hard and that it caused some bleeding around your brain. The blood was pushing against your brain. It’s why you couldn’t see. He had to drain it off. That was three days ago.”  
“Three days!” Face was shocked.  
“He wasn’t sure if there was going to be any permanent damage or if you’d even wake up.” Hannibal answered solemnly.  
“Permanent damage? You mean there could be something wrong with my brain?” Face was still not quite over the shock.  
“The doc will check you out, but you seem like yourself to me.” Hannibal smiled reassuringly. Face sat for a long moment thinking about everything that Hannibal had said, and what he had not said. Face realized that he must have given them all a good scare for them to be waiting in his room like they were. He could just picture the three of them bullying the nurses and doctors into letting them stay with him. It brought a smile to his lips. A sudden thought occurred to him. “Hannibal?”  
“What?” Hannibal asked instantly.  
“You said he had to drain the blood, from my head?”  
“Yes.”  
Face reached up and touched the bandage around his head. “They didn’t, did they?”  
“Didn’t what?”  
“Shave my head!” Face touched a spot at the back of his head that was devoid of hair. Hannibal, BA, and Murdock burst into laughter.  
“It’s not funny!” Face glared at them.  
“It’s just, now I know you’re okay!” Hannibal got out between laughs. Face rolled his eyes and pouted.  
“Oh come one Facie, it’ll grow back. You’ll be chasing the girls in no time, and even if it doesn’t baldness is supposed to be a sign of virility.” Murdock ducked as Face sent a pillow sailing in his direction.

THE END


End file.
